I Reviewed Fixed Costs to Reduce My Parents' Living Expenses

Nursing care and money are inextricably linked.

No matter how hard we try, it is impossible to rapidly increase our parents' assets.
Aside from inheritance and the like, it is unlikely that elderly parents will earn a significant amount of income from now on, so we have no choice but to manage with the money they currently have.

Today, I would like to introduce what I actually did regarding my parents' finances.

1. Grasping the parents' pension amount and savings

Immediately after my parents were hospitalized, the first thing the community comprehensive support center told me was
"Please find out how much your parents' pension is and how much they have in savings."
that was it.

• Whether they will enter a facility or use home nursing care services

• If it's a facility, what level of facility they can enter

• If it's home nursing care services, what level of service they can receive

Considerations such as these begin with grasping your parents' pension income and savings amount.

I thought, "Even if you tell me that, my parents are hospitalized and I can't ask them, and I don't know where their pension books or bankbooks are kept..."
but I couldn't afford to say such things.

I went to my parents' house, searched everywhere that valuables might be kept, and managed to find the postcards sent from the pension office and their bank passbooks.

If your parents are still healthy, it might be difficult to talk about such things face-to-face.
However, if your parents are over 70, I recommend that you somehow find out their pension and savings amounts.
It will make responding in an emergency much smoother.

2. Reviewing fixed costs

(1) Changing from a smartphone to a feature phone

My father changed his mobile phone to a smartphone a few years ago, but he couldn't master it and gave up, leaving it as is without canceling the contract.
He was essentially throwing away about 5,000 yen in smartphone costs every month.

I suggested that maybe he didn't need a mobile phone at all, but he insisted on having one, so we changed from a smartphone to a feature phone.

The procedure followed the steps below.

1. Purchased a SIM-free feature phone (4G) on Mercari

2. Went to an au shop and changed to the cheapest plan called the "Keitai Plan"

Mobile phone companies encourage switching from feature phones to smartphones, so it's actually quite difficult to find information on how to switch back to a feature phone.
In particular, it is difficult to obtain accurate information such as "which feature phone should I buy to make it work" and "how do I get a SIM-free feature phone."
But when I actually tried it, it was easier than I thought.

It might be a good idea to reconsider whether a smartphone is truly necessary.

(2) Changing the cable TV plan

Many elderly households subscribe to local cable TV, don't they?
Our family was on a plan that allowed us to watch CS broadcasts on cable TV, and we were paying about 5,200 yen per month just for television.
(A standard terrestrial/BS plan costs 1,100 yen.)

It seems they had that expensive plan because they wanted to watch old dramas and golf programs, but since everything was available on U-NEXT, we decided to review the plan and subscribe to U-NEXT instead.

(3) Reviewing insurance

I think there are many cases where people haven't reviewed their insurance for decades and continue to pay high premiums.
I recommend that you take a look yourself to see if the coverage is appropriate.

(4) Reviewing food expenses

When nursing care first became necessary, my top priority was establishing a daily routine and ensuring a healthy, human life, so I didn't have the bandwidth to think about food costs.
Because of that, we were using a meal delivery service for lunch and dinner, which was quite expensive.

However, after a while, once we had established a routine, I turned my attention to costs.

Until then, I had been using the meal delivery service for two meals a day, but I reduced it to one meal and had a home helper prepare the other.
This was a great success.

Costs were significantly reduced, and my father and mother seem very satisfied because the food the helper makes is delicious.

3. Conclusion

Here is a summary of today's points.

• Nursing care and money are inseparable.

• Understanding your parents' pension and savings amounts is the first step in considering a nursing care system.

• Support them in reviewing fixed costs such as mobile phone bills and insurance premiums.

First, understand the current situation and save where you can.
Such steady, incremental efforts are important.
Please support your parents in managing their money so that you can curb unnecessary spending and use money for what is truly needed.